Draft, Smoke and Sweep Work Across the Westside / Malibu Coast
the bluffs, canyon rims and rebuilt streets between Sunset Boulevard and the ocean
Pacific Palisades
Here the smoke call often comes from a house that was just rebuilt or remodeled: a new tight envelope pulls air down the old flue, or a new roofline now sits higher than the chimney. Owners who stayed through the January 2025 fire also ask us whether heat or ash reached the flue, which a camera answers.
the flats below Sunset and the winding hillside streets above it
Beverly Hills
Large Beverly Hills living rooms often have wide, tall fireplace openings that look grand but are too large for the flue above them. That mismatch is a classic cause of smoke spilling at the top of the opening, and a smoke guard or glass doors usually cure it without changing the look much.
the leafy streets and canyon roads north of Sunset and down toward San Vicente
Brentwood
Big Brentwood houses often have two or three fireplaces sharing one masonry stack. When one fire is lit, smoke can drift down a neighboring flue into another room, a problem that looks like a leak but is really a short flue partition or uneven flue heights at the top.
Culver City streets from Culver Crest and Blair Hills down to the Expo line
Culver City
Plenty of Culver City bungalows have added a second storey or a large rear addition, and the original chimney now sits lower than the new roof. When we hear that a fireplace started smoking after a remodel, chimney height relative to the new roof is the first thing we measure.
the flats below Franklin and the steep hillside lanes above it
Hollywood
On the hills, a chimney that sits downslope of the next house or close to a steep bank can get caught in swirling air. Owners describe smoke coming back in on windy nights only, which usually points to the cap or chimney height rather than the flue itself.
neighborhoods across the City of Los Angeles, from the Westside to the hills near downtown
Los Angeles
Across the city, smoke and smell calls tend to follow the age of the house: older masonry chimneys suffer from cracked tiles and oversized openings, while newer factory-built fireplaces have problems with chase covers, gaskets and venting. We work out which kind you have before suggesting anything.
beach roads, bluff lots and canyon drives strung along the Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu
Malibu homes face wind from two directions: onshore breezes most afternoons and hard offshore gusts in fire season. A chimney that draws well on a calm night can puff smoke back into the room when the wind comes over the ridge, so we often look at cap shape before anything else.
beach-adjacent blocks and older residential streets from Ocean Park up to North of Montana
Santa Monica
Many Santa Monica houses share a lot line closely with taller neighbors, and a two-storey addition next door can leave an old chimney sitting in a wind shadow. That is a common cause of smoke rolling out of the fireplace on a breezy evening even when the flue is clean.
the hillside streets around the reservoir and down toward Sunset Junction
Silver Lake
Silver Lake has both old masonry chimneys and factory-built metal fireplaces in mid-century houses. A smoky masonry fireplace usually needs a draft check and sweep, while a smelly metal unit may have a damaged chase cover or failing pipe joints, so we look at each one differently.
tightly packed blocks of apartments, duplexes and bungalows between the Sunset Strip and Melrose
West Hollywood
In multi-unit buildings, one chimney stack can serve several fireplaces, and a smoky unit may be caused by a neighbor's fire or an old shared flue. We check which flue is which before suggesting any fix, and we note when the work needs the owner or HOA on board.
Your street missing from this list?
Ask anyway. If the drive works we book you, and if it does not we say so straight away.